Homemade Malasadas

Sugar-coated Portuguese donuts filled with chocolate haupia pudding.

Hi Bakers!

A lot of noteworthy donuts come from a pink box, but it’s the ones from Leonard’s Bakery that hold the most memories for me. I remember tearing into the warm, fluffy dough and licking the sugar coating off my fingers, mixed with a bit of sand and sunscreen, during my childhood summers visiting Hawaii. Whenever we would visit my family on Oahu, a stop for malasadas was always a must. 

Much like my family’s origin story, Arsenio and Amelia DoRego came to Hawai’i under contract to work in the sugar cane fields - mine from the Philippines and the DoRegos from Portugal. Their grandson, Leonard, moved to Honolulu with his family and opened Leonard’s Bakery in 1952. What started as a way to honor the Portuguese tradition of Shrove Tuesday back in 1953, Leonard’s Bakery is now known for their hole-less, fried, and sugared malasada donuts around the world. 

Malasadas are a Portuguese pastry, similar to a donut. The fried, yeast-risen dough gets tossed in sugar while they are still warm. With pillow-soft insides and a crisp coating, they are served plain and often filled with tropical custards and curds, like haupia (coconut) or lilikoi (passion fruit).

For my version, I used a butter and egg yolk enriched sweet dough, similar to brioche. Honestly, hardly anything beats a warm, freshly fried donut. But because it’s Bake Club, and we always have the option of going the extra mile, I’ve stuffed them with a chocolate haupia pudding. 

Haupia (pronounced how-pee-ah) is a silky coconut dessert. It has a jello-like consistency that is usually made in a sheet pan then cut into individual servings. Back in the day, my great-grandparents would harvest whole, fresh coconuts and boil the coconut meat to make their own coconut milk before conventional canned coconut milk was popular.

For the malasada filling, I added cocoa powder, sea salt, and bittersweet chocolate to coconut haupia. It’s like a chocolate coconut pudding that is just as delicious eaten off a spoon as stuffed in a puffy donut.

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Donuts are one of those pastries that are always best served the same day they are made. This small-batch recipe makes 8 donuts, perfect for when the house is full or you can share with neighbors. 

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Frying Tips:

• Use a large, heavy-bottomed pot. A dutch oven works great. The oil should fill the pot at least 2-inches but be no more than half full to keep hot oil from bubbling over.

• Use a neutral flavored oil with a high smoke point, like canola or avocado oil. 

• Maintain an even temperature. As you fry, the temperature of the oil will fluctuate. Allow the temp to rise/lower before the next batch goes in.

• Always take caution when working with hot oil. Long sleeves and closed-toed shoes are recommended.

• Drain donuts first with a slotted metal spoon then on a paper towel-lined wire rack.